Rail-joint



N0. eo9,|o|. Patenfed Aug. l6, |a9s J R. HINCHLIFFE.

BAIL JOINT.

(No Model.)

WIZWESSES [WE/V702? dilorrzey! llm'rnn STATES ROBERT HIN CI'ILIFFE,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 609,101, dated August16, 1898. Application filed March 9, 1896. Serial No. 582,400. (Nomodel.)

To ctZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT HINCHLIFFE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illi-' nois,haveinvented certain new anduseful Improvements in Rail-Joints; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved device for connecting the meetingorabutting ends of railway-rails to form a continuous trackway, and hasfor its object to provide a joint that will be as strong or strongerthan the rail, and thereby prevent deflection and secure an even linealong the surface of the rail.

On all railways the movement of a train causes a vertical load on therails, tending to force them downward. In addition to this on a curvethere is a lateral force tending to move the outside rail sidewise. Therails are therefore subject to the action of two forces acting at rightangles to each other. The vertical only acts on a straight line and bothforces together on a curve. The rails, joints, ties, &c., that form theroad-bed have to be of such a size as to meet the requirements of weightper car, as well as the number and speed of trains makingup the traiiicpassing over them. The weak points of the track are the joints, whichare always found-after some use to be depressed below the ordinary levelof the rails.' To remedy this evilandto maintain the rails at theirproper level throughout their entire length the present device wasinvented. As a means to this end the first thing is to ascertain thestrength of the rail in such terms as to represent a known quantity,and, second, to design a joint of equal strength that will safely bearthe vertical load and'resist the lateral bending action alreadymentioned. Structurally the larger portion of the material of the railis in the head or tread. This is to allow for wear, as well as strength.The next largest portion is in the flange or base and the remainder isin the web. In ordinary rails over forty per cent. of the steel formsthe head, over thirty per cent. forms the flange, and the balance formsthe web. The chief function of the web is to sustain the shear or thecrushing effect of the load. All rails are laid on ties spaced a certaindistance apart. Between such tiesthe rail has no support and must bestrong enough to resist all bending action. When the wheels of the trainare on the rail between the ties, the rail wheels are over the ties, thestrain is a crushing one. For rails of above proportion, and in fact forall rails, the strength to carrya load depends upon the distance betweenthe tread and the bottom of the flange and is in proportion to the cubeofi this distance within certain limits. The stiffness of the railsidewise depends, chiefly, on the width of the flange. It will be thusseen that the load that a railof a given weight will bear in eitherdirection can be greatly modified and is dependent upon the distancebetween its outer parts, as stated; but this is only within certainlimits, for if the rail is made too high the web will be too thin andwould bend under the load, just the same as a'column is made larger andheavier to carry the same load as its length is increased. Experiencehas suggested certain proportions for given weights of rails which arerecognized among railroadmen as standards.

In searching for data necessary to calculate the strength of a beam orrail there are certain functions, technically called 1110 ments, whichare preliminary in all investigations of this nature, which when onceascertained determine the problem to be solved. The first step is tofind the neutral axis, which is usually the center of gravity, which ina plied to a joint will determine its dimensions to carry a given loadwith just as much certainty. It being understood that the rail is beingtreated as a beam, the plates forming the is subjectto a shearingstrain; When the rail, owing to the usualproportions already joint, thesubject of this invention, are being treated as girders of short span tobridge the gap between the rail ends. The two problems in thisconnection are the form and dimensions of the plate and the mechanicalmeans of attaching them firmly and readily to the rails. Now the rail isuniform in section and is consequently of the same strength throughoutits entire length, and it only remains to construct a joint of the sameor greater strength-probably about twenty per cent. more-to allow forpunching and possible defects and to properly connect it to the rails toeffectually bridge over the gap between them and so make this point asstrong as any portion of the rail.

Having found the required depth of the plates forming the joint in thegirder form and distributed the material to resist lateral strain, it isonly necessary to find the length required, which depends upon the shearof itself and of the flange of rail and the method of connection. Theshear of the rail has to be considered, because the deflection at thejoint-plates from a load at the middle is resisted by the flange of railat the end of the joint, which is thus subject to shear or to a punchingaction. The power of the flange to resist this action depends on thedistance from the end of rail or on the length of joint within smalllimits, just as a lever applied to a load depends upon the position ofthe fulcrum for the power or weight applied. The stress on the fulcrumdepends on its position with reference to the load and the powerapplied. The nearer to the load the greater the stress. If the fulcrumis moved farther away, a given power will lift less, and in general theload that a given force can move with a lever is proportioned to thelength or distance of the fulcrum.- From this it will be seen that theload on a joint is concentrated at the gap between the rail ends,tending to bend it at this point downward. This downward tendency isresisted by the j oint-plates at the center of their length and at theirends by an upward reaction. They tend to carry the flange of the railalong with them, causing a tendency to shear the flange. From the centerof the joint to its end is the fulcrum in the lever, which can be variedat pleasure within certain limits. Calculation shows with regard to thestrength of the flange the safe length of the joint. The material inthis device is therefore distributed to resist the strains to which itis subject throughout its length and breadth, as Well as to resist thebending action around a curve. Its function, therefore, is to unite therails which it joins into one continuous rail.

So far the joint has been treated as an engineering matter. Itsmechanical phases are its manufacture and proper connection to therails. With reference to its manufacture it can be rolled, like a rail,between suitablyshaped rolls, of steel or any other material that willroll. It is completed in a roll and there is no other process to be gonethrough except cutting to length and punching, which is common to alljoint-plates and is therefore no moreexpensive. To connect this deviceto the rails, the plates are fitted to the rail between the head andflange and around and underneath the flange, as shown, and are securedthere by bolts. If the function of the bolts was to resist the action ofa vertical load only, fewer would answer; but in addition to thevertical load it is subject to a bending strain on a curve, as alreadystated. These strains are resisted by the bolts, which are the fulcrumof the levers, and their strength is proportioned under these conditionsto the strength of the joint, which from the distribution of thematerial in the plates is stronger laterally than the rail. Its formalso gives it a certain elasticity, resulting from the load beingconveyed to the vertical portion of the plates through a deflected line.It is a device intended for all rails in ordinary use, of whatever formor section or for whatever purpose, and is entirely independent of theties, as it lies wholly between them. This device is complete in allitsdetails, and as the result of careful study of the conditions underwhich it is applicable to resist the strains to which it will be subjectwill be of great service to railroads in keeping a road in goodcondition by prolonging the lifeof the .rail and by increasing thesafety and comfort of the passengers by minimizing the chances ofaccidents through the removal of the existing weakness at all joints.

In the construction shown unlimited strength is attainable withoutmaking the joint unduly large or bulky. It is a bridge in the fullestsense of the term and is designed, like the rail, on the same principleas a beam or girder for vertical and lateral strains, the latteroccurring more especially on curves.

The joint being as strong vertically and as stiff laterally as the bodyof the rail the weight on the wheels will be equally distributed andunequal loading of the ties adjacent to the joint will be avoided. Teakjoints are the cause of the depression always observable at the railends. The depression causes hammering on the rails by the moving train,which loosens the earth and lowers the contiguous ties, producingendless expense in maintenance of way, as well as everlasting injury andprobable disaster to the rollingstock. Remove the cause by theintroduction of a joint that will hold the rails rigidly in line and yetallow for expansion and contraction and a remedy is at once obtained forthe above serious objections.

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing jointplates applied to arail-joint, bolts being omitted from two bolt-holes. Fig. 2 is an endview of joint-plates, showing rail in section and bolts as they wouldappear in such end elevation.

The companion joint-plates A A follow the outline of the rail where theyare in contact and when secured in place occupy the relative positionshown with reference to the diffent parts of the rail B. The verticalparts a a of the plates fit in between the under side of the head I) ofthe rail and the upper side of the flange or base I), and these parts aor shown have upper and lower ribs 6 e, such ribs being well known inrailway'rail'jointplates. The surfaces in contact of the upper parts ofthe plates are beveled to fit the corresponding beveled surfaces of therail-head and flangebase and wedge into place. The

plates are secured to the rail by bolts 0, passing through the web bFrom the bases of the upper parts a a the plates extend outwardly aroundthe flange edges of the rail, forming the middle rounded-shoulder partsa a, then run back closely to and underneath'the flange, then turn downvertically, forming the lower parts a a and then turn inwardly, meetingin the vertical plane passing through d 01, forming a chamber 9 betweenthem. The lower Webs a of the plates are shown as about .midway of thehorizontal width of each plate, measured from end of rib e" to roundedshoulder. The webs a a of the plate are therefore in about the sameplane, insuring vertical stiffness, and the ribs projecting from saidwebs a toward each other about in contact under the rail and the boltsholding all firmly in place secure lateral strength and stiffness.

The tongues or shelves ending at d d, on which the base of rail rests,are formed in the process of rolling and may have a space between thepoints cl d to draw the plates in closer contact to rail. The lowerparts of the plates 61,2 a are held in place by bolts D, passing throughfrom side to side, as shown in Fig. 2. The bolts 0 and D also resist theaction of bending on a curve, as already explained. It will be notedthat the in and out bends of the center parts of the plates provide arecess h for the flange of the rail and inclose the surface thereof bothabove and below. The joint-plates will be proportioned in theirdimensions and the material in them will be distributed according to thesizes, shapes, and weights of rails. As the joints will lie between theties, the depth below the rail is unlimited. There will therefore be nolimit to the depth of the joint except that of convenience. j

The upper parts a a of' the joint-plates between the head and flange ofrails are subject to a compressive stress only, like the head of rail,while the lower parts a a below the rail are subject to a tensile stressonly, like the flange of rail. The middle portion a is subject toseveral strains at the same time. It transmits a part of the load fromthe upper part a to the lower part a and owing to its 3 form undergoes abending strain and a compressive stress. It is in the line of theneutral axis and is therefore subject to both compressive and tensilestresses. (as regards length) is undergoing a compressive and bendingaction from the load, tend ing to deflect the plates at the center, theends of the portion tend to open out, owing to the reaction of theflange in resisting the load. The neutral axis by preference passesthrough that portion of the plate, which facilitates calculation andforms a distinct dividing-line for the compressive and tensile stresses.In calculation the 3 portion forms no part except to transmit a part ofthe load and the opposite lines of stress and to resist bending action.

As already stated, the bolts play an important part in resistingdeformation besides the vertical load. abutting ends of the rails in afirm grip, prevents any lateral or vertical motion between the rails,gives great stiffness to the joint, and forms practically a continuousrail. Its use, therefore, will remedy the hammering between wheels andrail ends,prevent the loosening of the earth and the consequentdepression of the adjacent ties, increase the life of the rail, andmaterially diminish the wear and tear on rolling-stock and lessen theprobabilities of disaster. ing the principles governing the action andstrength of this joint, together with-the deductions determining theform and distribution of the material, are entirely new. In no otherspecifications involving a similar purpose can analogous reasoning befound.

It will be observed that the parts or webs a a of the joint-plates aresubstantially in the same vertical plane. The lower parts or webs a ofthe plates extend the full length of l the plates. The bolts D, whichextend through the lower parts or webs a of the plates, are

below the rails, and the outer pair of such bolts have locations nearthe ends of the plates, where they have a long leverage from the jointof the rail. cates and reversible and, seen inelevation, are rectangularin outline. tend toward the web of the rail above the flange. The ribs 6c extend into contact when drawn together below the flange.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The rail-joint plate described, consisting said plate having thebolt-holes above and below the middle part, substantially as describedand shown.

2. In a railway-joint, in combination with the adjacent rails of atrack, a pair of similar joint-plates, each plate having webs a, a insubstantially the same vertical plane con- While the middle portion ofthe J' This arrangement holds the The manner of investigat- The platesare dupli- The ribs e e exnected by rounded-shoulder portions, the ribs6, e, extending inward and fitting closely against the rail head andflange, the ribs 6 extending inwardly nearly to each other under therail-flange and the ribs 6 extending toward each other from the loweredge of web a the webs a joining the under flanges of the middle parts aat about midway of their width, the bolts extending through said platesand the rails, and a pair of bolts extending through the plates near theouter ends and below the rails, all substantially as described.

3. The combination with the abutting rails of a railway, of a pair ofjoint-plates, similar to each other, rectangular in outline, havingupper and lower webs in substantially the same vertical plane, the upperweb having upper and lower internal ribs extending inward about to theweb of the track at the junction of said track-web with the head andflange respectively, the central portion of said ROBERT HIN CHLIFFE.

lVitnesses:

L. M. FREEMAN, L. B. COUPLAND.

